This invention relates to a security cover for preventing unauthorized access to the contents within a display case.
Many valuable items, such as jewelry, are displayed for sale by retailers in display cases which have transparent, commonly glass, faces through which the items in the display case can be viewed by customers, salespeople and the like. Commonly, the display cases include a glass front face, glass top face, and often a glass rear face and glass end faces. These display cases are usually elevated off of the floor by a wooden support structure such as a base or the like. The display cases are fully enclosed and usually kept locked since the retailers want to limit access to the valuable items and prevent shoplifting, breakage, etc. The glass faces are provided, so that customers can view the jewelry or the valuable items in the display case through the top and sides of the case.
The multiple glass faces of the display case allow the items therein to be viewed at different angles and to let a maximum amount of light in the display case. Since these display cases are usually locked, when a customer wants to handle a particular item or have a closer view of it, a salesperson unlocks the display case and removes the item for the customer's viewing. Therefore, for optimum merchandising of the contents of the display case, a customer's visual access to the items must be maximized.
The use of glass faced display cases presents a problem during times when the establishment is closed. The problem develops when the valuable items are left in the display case overnight, which is often done through the lack of storage space for the valuable items other than in the display case and due to the time involved in removing and subsequently replacing all the items.
One common practice for thieves is a "smash and grab" procedure. In a "smash and grab" robbery the thieves first break into the establishment and then smash at least one of the glass faces of the display case. The thief or his accomplice can then remove the valuable items from the display case very quickly. Typical burglar alarms are ineffective in these situations because the robbery often takes place so quickly that the thieves can flee before the police can respond to the alarm. Thus, there is a need to protect the glass display cases so that the glass faces cannot be quickly and easily shattered and the contents removed. The longer it takes thieves to break into the glass display case, the greater is the likelihood that they will be caught as it gives police and security personnel more time to respond to the burglar alarm.
One response to these types of burglaries is to fortify the jewelry case against such "smash and grab" type thefts. However, this must be done without compromising the visual access during business hours to the jewelry. One possible solution to this problem is to apply an armor-plated transparent film to the glass of the jewelry display case. The armor-plated film inhibits the ability of a thief to break through the glass faces. The protective film may be effective in many situations, but it is not impenetrable and can be broken into. Additionally, although the film is substantially transparent, it is not removable and usually darkens over time which inhibits visual access to the contents of the display case and diminishes the appealing nature of the jewelry displayed therein.
Another type of device is a protective screen which can be pulled down over the display case or similar structure to protect the goods therein. However, such screen members have many disadvantages including the fact that all of the multiple faces of the display case are not typically covered by the screens. Further, when the screens are not in use they are retracted into a housing which can obstruct a customer's view and is not aesthetically pleasing in the jewelry case environment. Further, it is often possible to pry or lift the edges of the screen member away from the display case to gain access to the contents.
Other types of protective covers are permanently affixed and have proven very useful in environments other than display cases. Such covers are always attached to the item being protected, even when not in use. This is aesthetically displeasing to the customers viewing items in the display case. Additionally, such permanently mounted covers would hinder the sales personnel's access to the items in the display case and prevent free movement around the cases.
Other types of covers include foldable enclosures which are intended to cover the display cases. These devices have the disadvantage that they are not adaptable to a display case having non-planar or irregularly shaped glass faces. Additionally, the foldable covers typically include a number of hinges which can be easily removed by the thief to separate the various sections of the cover and then provide access to the glass faces of the display case.
Therefore, it is apparent that there is a need for an improved security cover for display cases having glass faces that is robust and cannot be easily defeated by would-be thieves and prevents access to the contents of the display cases during non-business hours. Moreover, the security cover must not be difficult for a user to employ nor hinder a salesperson's access to the items in the display case when the security cover is not in use.